A nation looks to the future

Published 1:01 am, Monday, January 21, 2013

Like the election that preceded it, this year's Inauguration Day lacks the historic weight of the same event four years ago. In 2009, when Barack Obama took the oath of office to become president, no one doubted the day would be long remembered. Now, in 2013, the day has approached without as much fanfare.

It's understandable. There's no new president, only a renewed contract for the current one. And little has changed in the wider political scene. Though Election Day was a good one for national Democrats, they still control the Senate but not the House, which remains in Republican hands. Instead of seeing history unfolding before our eyes, we're seeing a break in the daily grind that is today's Washington politics.

And when the business of governing resumes, the president will confront a second term filled with enormous challenges, made more daunting by the unrelenting opposition in certain quarters of the Republican Party to measures that, if proposed by anyone other than the president, would not be controversial.

President Obama campaigned hardly at all on the issue of gun control, but it's turned into the highest-profile legislative push in the nation. Despite the extremist rhetoric from some opponents, there is nothing radical about what the president has proposed or about the actions undertaken by executive order. Expanded background checks and limits on certain weaponry enjoy wide public support, and these and other changes should be approved by Congress.

The president has vowed to make immigration a signature second-term issue. Even as the number of people entering this country illegally has declined in recent years, as the struggling economy proved less of a draw, there's no question the system is flawed. Something must be done about the millions of people who are already here, and are going to stay here, because simply deporting them is wrong both practically and morally. There are common-sense changes that can be agreed upon, and Congress must pass a bill this session.

The economy, which many people thought would doom the president's re-election bid, remains sluggish. For too many people, it's simply a struggle to get by, and unemployment remains far too high. Though deficits and debt get more attention, the biggest economic problem in America is joblessness, and must be Washington's No. 1 priority. As employment rises, tax intake will rise as well, shrinking the deficit.

The president will have to tackle these issues and more in the months ahead. There's nothing easy about any of these battles. But by virtue of his re-election, he has proven he has the support of the American people, at least a majority of them. We believe he is up to the challenges the next four years will bring.